Pacuare Lodge by Böëna

My wife and I had an amazing experience this week at the Lodge. David was our guide and he and the adventure team were simply amazing. They were very safety conscious, funny as heck and very skilled. I never thought my wife would repel down a 100ft waterfall or go on a nighttime walk in the forest to see spiders, army ants and poisonous frogs...and enjoy it. The restaurant's food was exquisite. Being in a remote location, we were surprised at the 5 star presentation of each meal...and each desert. It was definitely a unique experience that we will not soon forget.

Such an amazing place! Costa Rica is renowned for its eco tourism, and this lodge is definitely an excellent example of why. We were picked up in San Jose and the 3 hour drive seemed short due to the engaging guides from the lodge and the great traditional breakfast that we stopped for on the way. We then did the raft in to the lodge, I’d never done rafting before and it was an intense but fun experience, and we got to enjoy great views in the calmer sections. We were lucky to be upgraded to the Jaguar suite, which was huge and had amazing views of the river, and all the features you’d expect at luxury accommodation. Once we were settled in, we were talked through the included and extra excursions we could do during our time at the lodge. We chose to do zip lining, a waterfall hike, a night walk, and a cooking lesson. All these were well run with great guides. The cooking lesson was an extra charge. We also did the included sustainability tour, jaguar talk and had a go at making clay balls full of biomaterial which keep the river healthy. The sustainability elements of the lodge are what really blew us away and were so interesting to learn about. We stayed for four nights, which meant we also had time to enjoy the amazing pool (maybe the best pool we have ever seen) and go to the spa, where the oils used smell incredible! It was also good to stay for longer as it meant we could rearrange activities if there was bad weather. This is no reflection of the lodge, but if you go in November be prepared for a lot of rain. We generally had clear mornings until about 12, then cloud and drizzle for a few hours and then very heavy rain from 4pm all night. We have travelled to other tropical destinations and this is definitely the most rain we have ever seen. The heavy rain meant unfortunately we couldn’t do the rafting out, which was disappointing but understandable. We do feel like this could have been communicated a bit better, as we were only informed the rafting was cancelled after we were in our rafting gear ready to go. Another stand out highlight was the food at the lodge. The vegetarian options were incredible, we didn’t have a bad meal and there were lots of healthy options. It may be because of the rain, but there were less wildlife spotting than we expected being in such a remote rainforest location. We saw one sloth from a distance, and lots of butterflies and birds, so something to consider if you are hoping to see sloths/monkeys.

Everything and everyone at this place is just amazing. Guides are great, staff super friendly, suites well maintained and the restaurant outstanding! We did the night walk, the canopy, the local village and the loop tours. We saw all kind of animals and had great fun canopy. And - what is better than white water rafting in and out. Approx 45 min in and 3 hours out! Unbelievable. Make sure you visit this place!!! Thanks to everyone for making our stay truly memorable.

We are in the middle of a trip in Costa Rica for holidays and have just left Pacuare Lodge and wanted to try and remember as many employee names as possible but will forget many because we're American tourists so please forgive me. The guides for the various activities, Alejandro, Eric, Kenny, David, Pino,Luis were kind, fun,professional and super knowledgeable. I'm forgetting others . Kevin"Mae" at reception "was the first to greet us and the last to say goodbye and reall went the extra mile for us. Then he left us in the capable hands of Raphael our raft guide to our next Boena destination. Always remember "Good Position and Lean In". Back to Pacuare, the rooms were next level combining natural esthetic with deluxe accommodations. The restaurant was sublime with impeccable presentation and delicious local flavors. Everyone at the restaurant could not have been more helpful or happy to help us on our stay. Our activities included night walk, zip lining , a 5 mile hike to an indigenous village, and canyoning (rappelling) . As I said earlier the guides for these excursions made the trip for us. We've already started discussing returning and we still have a week to go before we leave. Now we are at the Tortuga Lodge on the Caribbean side and in our first hour we have seen crocodiles, monkeys and iguanas. Our boat captain who brought us down river to the lodge was fantastic and went out of his way to show us some crocodiles. Amazing. I'll ask for his name for my review of Tortuga Lodge.

Put staying at Pacuare EcoLodge on your must do list. We went in September (10 days and never bored) low season. Frankly, this was a wonderful time to visit. It is supposedly the rainy season. Yes, it rained, thunderstorm, most afternoons for couple hours and then cleared. It never interfered with our activities. A good time to rest, read and watch birds from your balcony. All of the staff went out of their way to be sure we were having a good time, enjoying ourselves, with offers to be helpful in any way. Clearly, the staff were much more available during the low season. Definitely raft in. Your luggage will be waiting for you at your cabin when you arrive. Get up early and go bird watching with Luis or David, for example. Their knowledge of the birds, their habits and recognizing their calls in very impressive (we did this primarily with Luis and David, but there are other equally knowledgeable naturalists. We went every morning. Go on the night walk, again led by the naturalists-Luis and David. Using flashlights, they were masters at finding night creatures (the walks are one hour in length). I enjoyed learning traditional cooking with Susie. Go to the Nortico chocolate plantation and learn how chocolate fruit is harvested and the beens become chocolate (David was our guide). My wife enjoyed zip lining. Heights are not my thing. Done with great attention to safety. Remember you are in the rain forest, so you are zip lining through the jungle canopy. We were fortunate to see the capuchin and howler monkeys. The food was expertly prepared and varied. They would always accommodate requests. Pacuare Lodge is one of a group of ecolodges. It is an amazing example of being a self contained, sustainable operation. They produce all of their own electricity for example. During Costa Rica Independence Day Celebrations, my wife and I were actively included in the preparations and made to feel part of their celebrations. Raft out-much longer than arriving; guides are expert; running the rapids exciting; lunch by the Pacure River; amazing scenery. Pacuare Lodge, Costa Rica, was a wonderful experience made wonderful by the warm, friendly staff. Since the cabins are separated, the staff will take you to them in electric vehicles if you don't want to walk or it is raining.

This place was absolutely incredible, my dream vacation. I loved everything about it: the friendly and attentive staff, the 'glamping" room secluded in the hills, the included meals by a master chef, and the activities including white water rafting, canopy ziplining, canyoning down a waterfall, many different hikes, and early morning bird watching. I guess we were there in the rainy season but it basically rained late afternoon and evening, no biggie. (It WAS the rain forest!) We saw so many interesting creatures from tucans to bullet ants, and learned so much about them from the resort guides. If you're looking to really experience a beautiful, remote area of Costa Rica, this is the place.